The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Friday that forecasts for October to December indicate a strong likelihood of drier-than-average conditions, raising the prospect that the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in more than 40 years will continue.
The most recent outlook supports the concerns of aid organizations, which have been warning for months about the worsening effects of the drought for Ethiopia, Somalia, and parts of Kenya, including a risk of a second famine in Somalia after one there a decade ago that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Guleid Artan, director of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), the WMO’s regional climate center for East Africa, said, “Unfortunately, our models show with a high degree of confidence that we are entering the 5th consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa.”
We are on the verge of a historic humanitarian catastrophe in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, he continued.
The drought has occurred at the same time as an increase in food and fuel prices on a worldwide scale, which has been primarily felt in Africa due to the conflict in Ukraine. In the seven nations that make up the region—Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda—the World Health Organization estimates that over 80 million people are food insecure.
“The WHO is quite worried about this circumstance. Many families do resort to desperate means to survive as a result of it “said Carla Drysdale, a World Health Organization representative at a press conference in Geneva.
According to U.N. data, a $1.46 billion humanitarian appeal for Somalia has gotten more financing recently and is now 67% financed, but spokesperson Jens Laerke said more was still required to prevent “large-scale mortality.” Nearly $960 million, or nearly one-third of the total, had been donated to the broader appeal for Ethiopia, which had a goal of $3.01 billion.
